Russia says Kyiv yet to grant consent to begin swap of war prisoners, fallen soldiers' bodies

Kyiv has yet to grant permission for the humanitarian operations to be carried out, Deputy Defense Minister Col.-Gen. Aleksandr Fomin said in a statement.

"Representatives of the Ukrainian liaison group have not arrived at the designated meeting point. The reason for the delay in conducting these activities remains unclear to us," he stated.

Fomin pointed out that throughout two rounds of negotiations held in Istanbul in May and June of this year, the Russian delegation initiated discussions with the Ukrainian side on humanitarian issues.

"These discussions proved fruitful, yielding concrete agreements. As is known, following the first meeting, the parties successfully implemented a large-scale exchange of prisoners and civilians under the formula '1000 for 1000'," he said.

On June 2, another agreement on humanitarian issues was reached in Istanbul, which included transferring the bodies of deceased servicemen to Kyiv, as well as repatriating severely wounded and sick individuals, and exchanging prisoners under the age of 25, he noted.

"I would like to emphasize that, during the discussion of these issues with the Ukrainian delegation, we particularly highlighted our readiness to address these matters on a priority basis and in a timely manner," he remarked.

Upon returning to Moscow, the Russian side immediately proceeded with preparations for the transfer of bodies and the exchange of prisoners, he said.

"In advance, we notified the Ukrainian side of our proposals and were prepared to begin transferring the bodies of the deceased this week," he stated.

Moscow also dispatched members of the Russian liaison group to the Belarusian-Ukrainian border to coordinate all technical details on-site, he said.

"We hope that the Ukrainian authorities will make the necessary decisions in the near future. We reiterate our commitment to fulfilling all existing agreements, as the Russian side has always done," he said.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for Prisoner Exchange claimed that Kyiv had provided a list of prisoners for exchange, but the Russian side submitted lists that "did not comply with the previously agreed-upon terms of the exchange."

Concerning the repatriation of the bodies of the fallen soldiers, the Ukrainian side confirmed the existence of an agreement for such an exchange but noted that "the date for its execution had not yet been agreed upon by the parties."

The Russian side said it had seen Ukraine's comment in the media but is waiting for an official response through a special communication channel established for such purposes.